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Posts tagged ‘ILGA’

The International Lesbian,Gay , Bisexual, Trans and Intersex Association ( ILGA) has once again been turned down for membership in the UN’s Economic and Social Council. Inner City Press is reporting the vote on the application was proposed by Belgium but Sudan immediately countered that the application should not be considered.

When the dust had cleared it was voted 9-7 with one abstention ( Kyrgyzstan ) that the application should not be considered. Countries voting not to consider the ILGA’s application ( i.e. ‘yes’) were: Russia, Senegal, Sudan, Venezuela, Burundi, China, Nicaragua, Pakistan and Morocco .

The approved resolution put forward initially on December 17, 2010 was as follows:

A) on the basis that ILGA represents over 700 LGBTI member organisations throughout the world equally committed to fight discrimination based on sexual orientation, gender identity and gender expression, and to promote the universal respect for and observance of human rights and fundamental freedoms, including the elimination of all forms of discrimination and also including the realisation of the specific provisions of the following international human rights instruments:
· The International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights;
· The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights;
· The International Convention on the Elimination of all forms of Racial Discrimination;
· The Convention on the Elimination of all forms of Discrimination against Women;
· The Convention on the Rights of the Child
· The Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities
· United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples,

C) disturbed by the discriminatory treatment from the UN NGO Committee demanding once again (November 2010) ILGA to subject our membership to additional, unreasonable and unjust requirements outside of the protocol concerning ECOSOC applications,

1) condemns the repeated attempts to link ILGA and LGBTI organisations with paedophilia

2) insists that the United Nations recognizes ILGA’s right to obtain ECOSOC status in order to engage with the United Nations system like any other legitimate organisation.

Here’s some food for thought. The ILGA has a map of the world showing the current state of the world as regards LGBT rights ( or complete lack thereof) which I find very telling and more than a little depressing. A quick glance should illustrate that the scope of the ‘civilized world’ can now be redefined based on those countries in green. Most puzzling is South Africa which , while being excellent in terms of legislation, voted for the removal of sexual orientation as a cause for protection from extrajudicial killing in that recent UN 3rd committee vote.